It’s the late 1800s in Key West when the Otto family moves into their elegant new Victorian home on the corner of Simonton and Eaton Streets (now known as the “Artist House”).
One of their servants (later fired for her “Black Magic”) gives their youngest four-year-old son, Robert Gene, a 4-foot straw-stuffed doll that looks remarkably like him.
Robert names his new best friend after himself and, from then on, goes by the name Gene. Robert and Gene become constant companions. Dressed in Gene’s clothes, Robert The Doll has a seat at the dinner table and sleeps with Gene every night.
And then things start to get strange.
Robert appears to come to life. Household objects fly across the room. Gene’s toys are mutilated to the sound of giggles. But whenever Gene is reprimanded for the misdeeds, his response is always the same: “Robert did it.”
As the mischief grows, so do the servants’ departures. Finally, Gene’s parents put Robert in the attic, where he resides for many years.
Gene grows up, moves away, and becomes a celebrated painter. He meets pianist Annette Parker in Paris, and the two move to New York. After the death of his father, he and Anne return to Key West and take up residence in his childhood home.
Robert initially spends his days propped against a window in the upstairs turret room where Gene likes to paint. School children passing by claim to see Robert moving from one side of the window to the other. Visitors often hear mysterious giggling throughout the house and report changes in Robert’s facial expression when they converse.
Then, much to Anne’s dismay, Gene rescues Robert from the attic and takes the doll everywhere they go. For the next forty years, Gene, Anne, and Robert share the beautiful Colonial Queen Ann home. After Gene died in 1974, Anne, who despises the doll, returns Robert to the attic, where he was imprisoned until her death two days later.
The house remained empty for a time, yet passersby claim to hear evil laughter coming from the old mansion. Some who enter are supposedly attacked by the doll and even locked up in the attic. As the story goes, when new owners eventually move in, they are horrified to find Robert standing at the foot of their bed, giggling with a knife in his hand. They flee for their lives.
Today, the Otto’s former residence at 534 Eaton Street is known as the Artist House, a highly acclaimed guest house and one of the most photographed and illustrated homes on the island.
Now 166 years old, Robert currently resides at Key West’s East Martello Museum, where he sits, encased in glass, clutching his stuffed teddy bear and menacing all who visit.
You can experience a chilling visit with him during the museum’s new “Robert the Doll Experience Ghost Tour.” Created by Key West ghost hunter/historian/author, David Sloan, it’s the only tour in Key West that includes a “personal encounter” with the world’s most haunted doll.
The “Robert the Doll Experience” takes place nightly at 8 pm and begins at Fort East Martello, 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd. Free parking is available at the fort, easily accessible by foot, bicycle, taxi, or rideshare. Tickets are $29 and available online at ghostfort.com. For more info, give David Sloan a buzz at 305-395-1435.
